11.08.2005

Amyloid plaque>

What is amyloid plaque?

Here is a definition, according to Wikipedia:

Amyloid describes various types of protein aggregations that share specific traits when examined microscopically. The name amyloid comes from the early mistaken identification of the substance as starch (amylum in Latin), based on crude iodine-staining techniques. For a period the scientific community debated whether or not amyloid deposits were fatty deposits or carbohydrate deposits until it was finally resolved that it was neither, rather a deposition of proteinaceous mass.

The phenotypes of genetically transmitted amyloid diseases are often inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion. Sometimes, the difference between aggressive amyloid diseases and senescent amyloid diseases is due to a mutation which makes the protein more prone to aggregation. Most commonly seen are point mutations which affect the cohesiveness of the protein and promote misfolding; other mutations cause aggregation-prone pieces of the protein to be cleaved off from the rest of the protein.

Now what can you do about it? You can play the amyloid plaque game and launch imaginary torpedoes at the plaque formations as they whiz by....

Have fun. If you noticed, when you leave this page you see some interesting pictures from the year....(?) the year 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' was released, also witnessing the introduction of the Commodore Vic 20 and the IBM PC, and only a year or so after Microsoft licensed DOS from a little company, then re-licensed it to IBM....Tell me the year!